Test are always dependent on what tires are used. You can shitty tires on one car and have it fail and better tires on another and have it "win"

Toyota's, Honda's, Mazda's etc all have part-time AWD and are primarily a FWD car. They aren't meant to be AWD for long periods of time. This is fine for occasional slipping, but for serious off roading / snow travel in rural areas, the Subaru will be better. I remember reading prior posts of the AWD systems on the Mazda overheating due to constant usage. This won't happen with the Subarus.

Now this is extreme. For most, the AWD system in the Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Chevy etc will be just fine. But if you're rural or plan on going off road in muddy dirt roads/snow, the Subaru system is significantly better.

For city driving, the AWD system in the Forester is not that much superior to the AWD system from Mazda. The CX-5 can run in FWD mode to save gas if it doesn't need the traction with the rear tires. You cannot do that with the full time AWD system with the Subarus. I will concede, maybe the Subaru has an advantage with AWD in an off-road scenario, but the CX-5 is not an off-road vehicle in the first place, it is really meant for city driving.

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I test drove the XT a few months ago. A blast to drive(the only 'fun' car to drive in this segment IMO) unfortunately both the exterior and interior are very dated. Not to mention the interior it full of hard plastics. It will likely be redesigned this year or next. If you really like it I would advise on getting a used one and not new IMO.

We had an '06 XT stick- that car was quite fun to drive despite having no steering feel/weight or suspension tuning to match what the powertrain could do. I drove the new XT (before the CX-5) figuring I'd likely buy it but was left cold. Still no steering, no suspension to match what the powertrain could do..interior was still pretty far behind the curve and other being able to go more swiftly in a straight line I actually found this vehicle horribly disappointing in terms of fun factor. Even just taking acceleration (while certainly fast enough) into account I found it was just unsatisfying for 1 reason only- the CVT transmission. I'm not trying to turn this into another one of those, I just disagree..the XT SHOULD be fun and to some people I get that it could be but for me...it was a hard pass thanks. For my roads (hilly/twisty) and driving (briskly but not 4000 to redline) CX-5 all day

I have a 2015 Forester 2.5i Limited in my stable, along with a CX-9. We traded a CX-5 for the CX-9.

The Forester has far more cargo and passenger space. Also superior visibility. Ther are no more plastics in the Forester than in the CX-5, except maybe the new 2017. My 2013 CX-5 had plenty of plastic to go around.

The CX-5 will be quicker, but not better on gas. My Forester was always better than our CX-5.

It comes down to what you value. Asking which is better in a Mazda forum will get you a jaded result. I'm sure if you went to a Subi forum, you will hear the opposite of what you are hearing here.

Buy what you like better. Both are good cars. Do what makes you happy.

For city driving, the AWD system in the Forester is not that much superior to the AWD system from Mazda. The CX-5 can run in FWD mode to save gas if it doesn't need the traction with the rear tires. You cannot do that with the full time AWD system with the Subarus. I will concede, maybe the Subaru has an advantage with AWD in an off-road scenario, but the CX-5 is not an off-road vehicle in the first place, it is really meant for city driving.

The Forester does not have full-time AWD. It's FWD and shifts roughly the same amount of power to the rear wheels when needed just as the CX5 does. X-mode will force the AWD system to engage, but that's not how it normally works and I've not seen anything demonstrating that x-mode works better than it's normal AWD logic. This is an example of what I was referring to in a previous comment about Subaru having a reputation that is an artifact of history. They have used a wide variety of AWD systems but people don't generally know that and assume that their superior system from back in the day still defines them today. I would not be surprised if a Forester was a bit better off-road in some conditions, it has something like .2 inches more ground clearance and somewhat better approach and departure angles, but I don't think it is accurate to say it has a significant AWD advantage in any way. I've seen various videos of the CX5 handling basic off-road conditions, I am extremely skeptical the Forester could handle anything the CX5 couldn't because they both have very good AWD systems that work similarly.

All that said, I could be totally wrong here and would love if you could prove it to me.

My Subaru experience was a 2012 impreza.It burned oil from day1.First they blamed it on the 0-20oil.After being told they wouldn't do anything they finally did a consumption test they Re ringed it.Still burned oil but not above their limits.Car was noisy and not that comfortable.We test drove a top of the line outback and left very un impressed.

My Subaru experience was a 2012 impreza.It burned oil from day1.First they blamed it on the 0-20oil.After being told they wouldn't do anything they finally did a consumption test they Re ringed it.Still burned oil but not above their limits.Car was noisy and not that comfortable.We test drove a top of the line outback and left very un impressed.

The Forester does not have full-time AWD. It's FWD and shifts roughly the same amount of power to the rear wheels when needed just as the CX5 does. X-mode will force the AWD system to engage, but that's not how it normally works and I've not seen anything demonstrating that x-mode works better than it's normal AWD logic. This is an example of what I was referring to in a previous comment about Subaru having a reputation that is an artifact of history. They have used a wide variety of AWD systems but people don't generally know that and assume that their superior system from back in the day still defines them today. I would not be surprised if a Forester was a bit better off-road in some conditions, it has something like .2 inches more ground clearance and somewhat better approach and departure angles, but I don't think it is accurate to say it has a significant AWD advantage in any way. I've seen various videos of the CX5 handling basic off-road conditions, I am extremely skeptical the Forester could handle anything the CX5 couldn't because they both have very good AWD systems that work similarly.

All that said, I could be totally wrong here and would love if you could prove it to me.

You're a little bit wrong.
Yes, the subaru system is now electronically controlled just like the CX-5, but unlike the CX-5, the subaru system is symmetrical.

The CX-5 AWD is driven off of just the right side of the transmission.
This means you can have just the front left wheel spinning and without fancy electronics the car would not move.

Thanks to the subaru boxer engine, being positioned longitudinally, every wheel has equal access to the torque.

In normal driving, electronics make up for most of the mechanical deficiencies of the CX-5 system, but if you were to build a rally car you would have much better performance with the Subaru AWD.

I just left my 2012 Subaru Forester Premium X. I can say it was a good car, but far from great. The few times I took it off-road or into some very bad weather, it performed magnificently. The only thing is that I only had a few opportunities to do it. In hind sight, the car did exactly what I needed it to do. The thing that I was never fulfilled by was it wasn't fun to drive. It completely lacked the ability to mod it out, as well. If you didn't have the XT version or Turbo, you really had no options to dial it up.
Pros:
Headroom for days! Both in the front and back, I was able to sit my friends well over 6' in the car.
Very "roomy" feel in the vehicle
Visibility is awesome
AWD was never a let down and performed better than my trucks did
Short turning radius
Solid gas mileage of others in its class (23/28)

Cons:
Barebones feel to it's tech and dash area
seats are far from comfortable and really show poor wear over time
Acceleration is pretty poor, but doable in a city setting.
cabin noise is pretty loud due to lack of door padding and sound proofing

If you were looking for a great utility vehicle and going to run it hard off road or in snowy conditions, I'd say this car is GREAT. If it's more of a daily commuter and comfort is a big deal to you, I'd look elsewhere. At the time I bought the Forester I paired it up against the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav 4, Ford Escape, Mitsubishi Outlander. The Forester had the best overall rating of safety, mpg, AWD, and ground clearance. The purchase made sense for a good while, but driving it over time just didn't fit my personal style. Switching to the CX5 has been a huge improvement for how I feel about daily driving.

The CX-5 will be quicker, but not better on gas. My Forester was always better than our CX-5.

Forester combined is 24. My CX-5 easily does 28. If I just drove recklessly braking and pushing every time an inch of space opened up - I would still equal a foresters mpg. Mind you the forester seems quick of the line too but linearity is horrible. There is no true throttle response.
If I kept it in sport forever then yes Forester would be more efficient.

Too much price if you really dont need AWD atleast 3-4 months a year. Maybe good in Alaska or high altitude in northern areas. But as a city vehicle its meh.

The 2000 OB's LSD made a YUUUGE difference in really deep snow. Just as anyone would expect.
The CX-5 is better (much better) at sending more power to the rear wheels (allowing drifting) than the newer Subies. Handles like a sports car. I love that.
I don't know how x-mode might change that, but I don't think it has LSD.

The AWD in the Forester is also part-time, I believe it uses a system very similar to what's in the CX5. I'm not aware of any evidence that it is significantly better than the AWD in the CX5. I do know the AWD Honda uses has been reported to overheat and disable itself faster than comparable vehicles when it's pushed heavily, not sure if other brands perform as poorly but I've never seen anything about this happening in a Forester, CX5, RAV4, etc. I don't think it's accurate to say "the Subaru system is significantly better". They do have AWD systems which perform better, but not all of them do and if comparing a Forester to a CX5 the only significant difference I am aware of is that the Forester has "X-Mode" which allows you to force the AWD into an enabled state. Actual performance is nearly identical, except that the CX5 is slightly superior in certain conditions (e.g. accelerating from a stop up hill with the wheels turned, as demonstrated in the video of the snow academy thing on youtube is something the CX5 is great at but the Forester AWD is unable to handle).

Re: Tires, I'm pretty sure the video I saw had all vehicles running identical winter tires. Cheating like that is super obvious.

I set my awd full time (dsc fuse removed) often and I never have overheating issues. Even after canyon runs with the club (ofc with the system on normal op, since I want max grip) with constant low gear, high rpm and sharp corners. I also have larger wheels (8.5")/wider tyres (255mm), a poly trans mount and a 93 tune (I can trip dsc just by doing a high rpm 1-2 shift). whatever power my engine is making goes right to the wheels, very little is lost to mounts and suspension. I do awd burnouts in the rain.. Not once has my rear diff fluid, in at least 3 changes ever come out burnt looking. The overheating someone mentioned literally have only seen on a 2016 CX-9 video. I have yet to see someone say they had their diff overheat in cx-5. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm convinced that the full time awd is the 50/50 split seeing as under that condition I can do fishtails and in a little bit of wet, awd drifts.